My incredible father was a very handsome and intelligent man. He was a civil engineer and graduated from A&M Summa Cum Laude. Because he created things, it was not hard to dream and see those dreams become reality. He would draw things up as blueprints and then make them. Next thing you knew, there was another building or street he made, so it was not hard to believe that what he said, would happen. He was my symbol of strength and possibilitiesbeing made reality. With him dreams came true. He was strong and handsome and smart and our everything. He worked everyday to provide for us as best he could. We were not rich but our needs were met. We had plans, too. He had blueprints of the nice house we were going to live in that even had a pool. We never got to live in that dream house. It never made it off blueprints.

Tragically, he died of a sudden massive heart attack brought on by too many sequential insulin reactions. His heart just couldn’t take it anymore in spite of how strong he was. I was crushed. I was twelve, my little sister ten and my brother became the man of the house at fifteen. Losing your father, the cornerstone of your house, family and heart, the symbol of strength and stability in your family can be a devastating blow. You can read an extraordinary and fascinating tale of how my father was able to come back from Heaven to let us know he was all right here. I believe in the eternity of the human soul. I believe that the bonds of love last forever. I don’t know why there is so much tragedy on Earth and why we have to go through it; I just know it is a part of life and no one knows when it is going to befall us. When it does, it can destroy all the plans and dreams you had for the future. My first marriage was destroyed by alcohol. I thought it was going to be the end of the world. One night I was fighting with my husband (ex) and I couldn’t take it anymore. I walked outside, looked up into the stars and thought, “God, I want to find a man who loves me for me, who is intelligent, interesting, admirable and funny, who doesn’t drink or do drugs, who is older and settled and doesn’t cheat on his wife or go out to bars at night. I want someone romantic, who doesn’t have a wife and kids, maybe has a dog he loves.” Then I pictured an older man with his dog by his side in a mobile home pulling into my driveway to deliver me from the hellish life I was living. Wouldn’t you know three years ago I met him. He is a local captain with a great reputation for honesty, intelligence and had all the qualities I was looking for. He owns Gladiator II Offshore Adventures which means he takes people fishing and helps them catch fish either offshore or in the bay. You know the funny part? When we met, he did not live in a mobile home. That was the only part different from my dream image. He lived in a 5th wheel which is pretty darn close. Can you believe that? Is God wonderful or what? We got married six months ago on June 21st.

My brother stood where my father would have been.

God’s gift to me was willing to take on a child from another marriage and love her as his own.

God allowed our paths to cross and we are perfect for each other. May God continue to bless our marriage and I hope all others searching for that special someone KNOW that God will provide the right person when it is time. Only in God’s time will it happen.

I am asking for special prayers of healing to be sent to the father of these beautiful twins who are my daughter’s best friends. They have just had their world devastated by a horrific accident in their family. Their father fell 30 feet and is paralyzed. We need prayers for healing for the whole family. I would be so lost, scared and devastated had that happened to us. Please keep them in your thoughts and prayers this Christmas. The hole for their pool intheirdream house was already dug and concrete poured.

Today I am going to see how to set up a gift account at the bank to help them pay the electricity, water, and other bills. Their mom works at Walmart and there is no way that that meager paycheck can cover what needs to be covered. They don’t know what they are going to do. Losing the business is a given. If he can’t walk, there is no way he can do construction. He can’t even move from the chest down. His wife said they will lose the house and car so I want to help find some kind of Plan B since Plan A has been destroyed. I know you will find it in your heart to help these beautiful 13 year-old twins, their 15 year-old brother who has just been thrown into being the man of the house, and their devastated mother. This man was a healthy 41-year-old man yesterday and today is paralyzed. Please help.

I just got back from work. A lady walked into the office. She had no business with us – just walked in and gave me some pamphlets for her bank. Since the bank I had called to see how to set up an acct. never called me back, I told her somebody had gotten hurt and I needed to find out how to set up a gift account. She asked who got hurt and I told her. Her hand shook from the shock and she had to sit down, shaken. Turns out she has known them and the family for years. She said she would do what she could to help out. She said before she left, “I don’t know why I came in here. I didn’t know you were here. I just felt I needed to open that door and come in here.” I said, “I know why you came in here. Because you were EXACTLY what was needed and God works in mysterious ways.”

The information is “The William A. Plouffe Fund” and the acct. no is 2905004843. It is set up so nobody can take money out but you can deposit whatever you can to help this poor family out. The banker lady and I were just instruments needed to relieve the fear and terrible pain that family is feeling right now. The bank isLone Star National Bank, 601 Padre Blvd., South Padre Island, TX 78597. (956) 761-1130. Thank you so much for your angelic help and may you have a Merry Christmas. God bless you and yours.

Many women think that finding that perfect man will give them the one thing that is still lacking in their life. Many factors must come into play before you find that perfect man.

1. You have to be ready, emotionally, financially, and completely. This means not overwhelming him with your neediness, financial hardships, emotional instabilities and dependencies. You have to be ready to lose some independence should this man move in or become your husband. No longer will you be able to come and go as you please or do exactly as you please. As horrific as this seems, it is part of the give and take that is necessary to make a relationship work. As much as you want that phone number for that hot tight-bodied pool guy, you must remember you have something much better now, a committed relationship.

2. You have to not expect it or be looking for him. As crazy as this may sound, you will find the perfect man when it is right, not when you want it. A friend of mine is constantly aggravated due to her inability to find a good man. I suggested that maybe it was because when the time was right to meet one of them,(Yes, there are many, many great men out there), she was with a loser and lost out on her chance to meet Mr. Right.

3. You have to get out there. Get comfortable in your own skin and get out into society. There are many many ways to do it. Find out what chamber of commerce events are scheduled and go or volunteer for a welcoming committee. Join a book club, gardening club, support group or volunteer group. There are so many organizations and groups that have a dire need for volunteers that the animals that you walk, the beauty you create, the friends’ lives that you will bless are a direct result of you just getting out there.

4. Exercise. Get out and walk in the morning, afternoon, or take a calming sunset walk. Listen to your favorite tunes on an MP3 player or take your dog or a neighbor’s for a brisk walk to unwind or to get in touch with the beauty of God’s nature. You will begin to get toned, lose weight and feel more comfortable and pleased with your appearance. This will result in some new items for your wardrobe and a new jump in your step, a genuinely friendly smile that magnetically brings smiles to other people’s faces.

5. Be patient, don’t give up and remember that there is no perfect man just as there is no perfect woman. Everyone has hangups, baggage, quarreling families, insecurities, bad habits and gas once in a while. When you meet this friend whom you will discover is interesting, charming, funny, romantic, respectful, admirable, and at times, adorable, you will realize that he is not the perfect man, but he may be the perfect man for you. Give love a chance and you will realize that love makes things perfect.

Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit
of happiness; it is generally the by-product of
other activities. —Aldous Huxley

When I begin to feel downcast, I must immediately turn my thoughts to other positive pursuits or chains of thought or get dragged down into the depths where Satan wants me. For example, one day I told my daughter that she was not going to have the same childhood I was; I used to think it was cool to not be involved in anything at high school. I did what was necessary to pass but did not really put in the effort in excelling so I decided that I was going to make sure that my daughter was going to have a productive and rewarding youth. I called the SPI Chamber of Commerce and got in touch with the people who were in charge of the children’s activities center at the Christmas parade. Even though I was told that there were five other parties who were going to be doing face painting I still asked if I could come which was a good thing because when the day came, none of the others showed up. My daughter and I were suddenly the star attractions. You should have seen the line. The line of kids waiting to see me was 30 deep and my daughter’s line was just as long. Those poor little kiddies waited so long that I couldn’t bear to even take a 1 minute break because I did not want to risk making any one of those precious babies disappointed. They were watching us work with huge fascinated eyes and would bunch around while we worked. They came up with neat designs themselves, for example, I had a dolphin as one of the designs they could select. A cute little girl asked, “Can you put a Santa hat on him?” I said, “Good idea!” and it began. Next a boy wanted a spider, that was not on the list of cute Christmas-themed designs I had displayed. Luckily, I am a spider-making expert and I drew an awesome spider on his hand, and to save me from getting in trouble with his mom, I added a Santa hat for good measure. I am sure he wanted a spider for the shock effect but that cute red and white Santa hat turned that terrible tarantula into an adorable arachnid.

So we realized we were good, really good, as a team and as painters. I chalked this experience to one on the “Good Mom” list and put up the paints in a place where I would remember for next Christmas at Schlitterbahn.

5 months later on a warm spring day, my boyfriend, Terry was driving me to Brownsville for a good ol’ dose of downtown treasure hunting when the phone rang. It was a man asking if he could meet with me that afternoon because he liked my resume. “Thank you, God!” I said then we went on to Brownsville to get the items we needed. Of course, I was gathering things we did not need and trying to convince Terry how much we did need them when I saw a beautiful set of paintbrushes at a ridiculously downtown Chinese Brownsville price. I figured, “Oh well, as long as I remember where I put them, I could use them for next Xmas.” We got back in our trusty little car and headed back for paradise island and my phone rang as we went down Hwy. 48. The caller asked if I was the one who did the face painting at Christmastime. She said we did a great job and wanted to know if we would be willing to be sponsored. Apparently the good people at the Texas Surfrider Foundation in South Padre wanted to know if we could help their booth be the best and we could and did. They were the nicest folks! One thing I love about South Padre is that people are genuinely kind and caring. All day long we did nothing but have a good time out there in front of Louie’s. There was a general excitement in the air as there were pirates everywhere. (It was South Padre Island’s 35th birthday and they had quite a bash!) Pirates and scalawags were everywhere! Everybody was decked out in their pirating best. We put in a good long day for the kids’ sake and headed home, tired but it was a good tired.

It turns out that the by-product of my conversation with my daughter about how she was going to have a more constructive and productive adolescence than I, was a new adventure. Turns out that with practice and tips from the pros and some investments into professional equipment, we are now doing birthday parties, church youth group activities and are going to bring smiles to children’s and parents’ faces at the awesome South Padre Island International Music Festival over the Halloween weekend this year. It feels good to have a talent that brings joy to many others and I only discovered this hidden talent when I was searching for a way for good to take the place of bad, or blah, in my daughter’s life.

A dating friend of mine is having trouble finding the right man. I tell her, “You will find him when you are not looking for him. Be involved in other things and you will meet him somewhere somehow. It will happen.” For happiness is not found in the pursuit of it, but is the by-product of other activities. It is kind of like when God shuts a door, he opens five windows, never just one as other people say. Don’t believe God opens just one window. When He shuts a door, it is usually because it would lead to somewhere dangerous or ugly so He shuts a door but opens all the windows in the room.